Submerged and Saved
by CrystalMaiden77
Summary: During a confrontation, Mr. Cheeks commands a robot to attempt to kill him with one of his greatest weaknesses, and in what seems like his final moments, Kat looks back on the nature of his rivalry with Coop, and wonders if he could count on him to save him.


Just after Kat had destroyed all of the other robots of Mr. Cheeks, the last one snuck up behind him and stole his collar. Just as he was about to turn around and attack it, the back of his head was thrusted under the swimming pool and his back was forced underwater. He was underwater with only his legs above the surface, desperately kicking with all his energy. Realizing that he had been ambushed, he wished that he could have taken a deep breath before he was shoved under the water. Kat soon realized that he was being drowned, and he was being pushed down against so hard that he could not fight back.

The robot must have been at a sizable distance from his legs, because all he kicked was the air. Kat couldn't stop air bubbles from escaping him and floating to the surface, and was even more distressed by them because he could see the very thing he needed for life escaping and mocking him silently. The hand was pressed so hard against the back of his head that he couldn't even look up. He panicked, knowing that no one would hear him below the water, and tried to pull the hands off him, but it was futile. Terrified, he decided that perhaps if he calmed himself down and thought happy thoughts, he could think of a way to survive.

He thought about Millie, his optimistic and energetic caretaker, who loved spending time with him and was always full of life. She was like a daughter to him, and he cared about her more than anyone else on Earth. But it didn't work for long when he soon realized that eventually she would find out he was drowned. How would she take it?

Deciding that this wouldn't calm himself down, Kat decided instead to think about Coop, his mortal enemy, a wisecracking, foolish, arrogant and self-centered snooping kid. He never let him have any fun and caused him a lot of trouble, and he always wanted to find a way to finally be rid of that brat in a way that was satisfying and fulfilling. He quickly despaired at realizing that he might die before ever giving Coop what he deserved. It reminded him of how he felt whenever something was trying to destroy him, instead.

Curiously, though, whenever he and Coop were faced with a common enemy, they actually made a good team. Despite the fact that he couldn't talk, Coop instinctively knew exactly what he wanted him to do and they worked together perfectly. Coop would never let him die. And whenever they were fighting a common enemy, he hated to admit it to himself, but he would never let Coop die, either, because he needed Coop to help him win the fight. And that was when he finally thought of a way that he might survive the situation. Mr. Cheeks, the controller of the very robot pushing him under the water, was Coop's enemy too! So if he was lucky enough to have Coop see what was happening, he would be saved!

Unfortunately, that flame of hope was extinguished when he remembered that it was midnight, so there was no chance of Coop coming to save him. He was more calm now, and was beginning to accept his fate. The water was really cold, and he had been submerged in it for so long that he was starting to forget what it looked like above the surface. Maybe this was the way he was meant to die. Maybe, if he was lucky, his home planet would fulfill their mission on Earth without him.

Not wanting to see the water surrounding him anymore and being too exhausted to move, he closed his eyes slowly, but still kept kicking, albeit more slowly, for the faint hope that he would hit the robot. Listening intently, he could hear the sound of air bubbles escaping him, and this meant he had to focus a little harder to hear above the surface because the sound there was muffled. It was hard, but he managed to focus on the muffled noises. He couldn't believe he was actually going to drown. Trying to relax, he waited for the end.

Suddenly, just in the nick of time, he heard Coop scream loudly from a distance, clearly seeing what was happening. He dashed towards the robot at full speed and slammed it to the ground with all his strength. The instant that happened, it let go of Kat's head and back, but he was in such pain that it felt like he was still being pushed down. As he sank into the water, he knew from those fighting sounds that Coop had come to his rescue, and was relieved.

Soon, crunching sounds were heard, indicating that Coop had won against Mr. Cheeks' machine once and for all. Coop cheered, only to quickly get scared and exclaim, " Wait, did he just sink?! " In a burst of energy, he threw off his coat and dived into the pool after taking a deep breath. Kat was losing consciousness as he opened his eyes squinting, but he knew that Coop was swimming down to get him out of the water. Soon, his right wrist was grabbed and he was pulled upwards, forcing him into a standing position when he was pulled out of the water, freezing cold and dripping wet.

His vision was a little blurry because he had water in his eyes, but he could still see Coop standing in front of him after he climbed out of the pool and onto the grass. Realizing what had just happened, Kat spit out all the water in his mouth with great force and started coughing uncontrollably. It scared him to know that he was automatically coughing out the only air he had left, only being able to take extremely shallow breaths in between each cough. He was dripping wet, exhausted, and freezing, and his head and back still felt like they were being pushed against, aching. His head hung down because of that, but he forced himself to look up. Coop looked extremely worried and scared for him, and his eyes showed it. Still coughing, Kat closed his eyes as a scary red haze blocked his vision, making everything become a pink and red tint. He passed out, and automatically started taking shallow breaths as a result.

Scared, Coop asked, " Are you okay? " and laid Kat down on his back on the ground, still dripping wet and freezing. Panicked, Coop asked himself quickly, " What do I do, what do I do?! " In a moment of desperation, he pushed down on Kat's chest with both hands, using all of his strength to try to revive him by forcing the blood to go to his head. " Wake up! Breathe, air! You're not underwater anymore! " he exclaimed in fear.

Eventually, Kat woke up coughing up water again, making Coop let go of his chest. Coop, who was kneeled down beside him, instructed him, " Breathe in deeply and cough out! " Kat gasped for air and coughed out for a while, until he finally coughed out all of the water and started breathing normally again. Coop sighed in relief, and said, " Glad that's over with. "

It was at this point that Kat expressed confusion at Coop being there so late at night. Reading him like a book, Coop said, " I guess you're probably wondering what I'm doing at Phoebe's swimming pool so late at night... " Kat nodded, and Coop explained, " I had snuck out with Dennis to look for the bracelet Fiona gave me after it went missing. I had a hunch that Phoebe had stolen it, so I came here. And then I saw some robots trying to drown you and, well, after you passed out, I pushed down on your chest and you woke up!... So why were those robots drowning you?... Wait a minute, they were made by Mr. Cheeks, weren't they? " Kat nodded, still looking scared. " Figures. Well, I was going to search for Fiona's bracelet here, but I think right now it'd be best if I took you home now and came here later. "

Kat tried to get up, but his head and back were in too much pain, and he was too exhausted. To his surprise, Coop offered, " Do you need some help sitting up? " Still a little rattled, he nodded, and Coop pulled him up to a sitting position. It was at that moment that Kat realized just how cold he was. He wrapped his arms around his body and started shivering uncontrollably. Feeling sorry for him, Coop picked up his coat and said, " Here. It's a little big, but at least it's warm. " He put his coat on Kat looking concerned. The inside of the coat was dry, comfortable, and incredibly warm from being just recently worn by someone else. Kat purred in appreciation.

The dark sky was overcast with black clouds, and soon, thunder was heard and it started to rain, much to their dismay. Remembering that his collar had been taken, Kat panicked and felt his neck, only for Coop to give the collar back to him saying, " Looking for this? I found it on the ground, " and put it back on him. Kat was relieved, but he was still shivering and unwilling to stand up.

Feeling sorry for him, Coop asked reluctantly, " Do you want me to carry you home? " After Kat looked at him in shocked confusion, he explained nervously, " Well, you're in too much pain to stand up right now, and you're really tired. I-I-I just think it'll be easier this way! We'll both get home faster if I carry you there. You can even take a nap while I'm doing it!... Are you okay with that? "

Kat thought it was very strange and uncharacteristic of his enemy to offer to carry him home while he took a nap, and concluded that it must have been out of pity. But while it would be uncomfortable, it did have a lot of good sides. He certainly wanted to sleep, and maybe it would be warmer to be carried. And if he could trust the kid to save his life, he could trust him to carry him home. After thinking for a bit, he nodded, and lifted his arms up, allowing Coop to put his arms around his coat-covered body and lift him over his shoulder. Kat sighed, knowing that while it was hard to get used to, he still preferred being carried to walking home in the rain.

Coop stood up carrying Kat, and turned towards where he came from and walked away, with the pool getting further and further away until it became a distant memory. Being very tired, Kat yawned and closed his eyes in sleep.

A few minutes later, Coop walked up to Dennis, who was searching for the bracelet near Lorne and Harley's house. " Why are you carrying Kat? " Dennis exclaimed. Coop explained, " Mr. Cheeks tried to drown him with a bunch of robots! I barely saved him in time!... After I gave him my coat to warm him up, he agreed to let me carry him home. He was too tired and in too much pain to walk home... " Feeling sorry for him, Dennis put his umbrella over Coop and Kat and said nervously, " Oh, alright... as long as he doesn't try to hurt you while you're carrying him, I'm okay with it. " Coop said with a relieved smile, " Thanks for the umbrella. Come on, let's go home. We can search for the bracelet another night. "

Coop carried Kat into his house, and eventually laid him down in the cat bed in Millie's room, trying to be quiet as he covered Kat over with the blankets and snuck out of the room. Kat was still sleeping peacefully as he left the room, relieved that he had saved him in time.


End file.
